Team 7: The Rookie Elite
by ghostlyTrickster
Summary: What would happen if the rookie nine had been assigned into different teams. How would they developed when put in different situations with different teammates? Maybe romances and rivalries will develop in places they otherwise would have been forgotten and unnoticed. What will the rookie nine become? Better yet, what will happen to Naruto and Sasuke?
1. Chapter One: Graduation Day

_**UPDATED**_

Today was the day. The day all the new genin would be assigned into squads and begin their journey as full fledged ninja. Many genin this year are showing great promise. Some more than others. Most of the new genin have already gathered at the academy, ready to meet their teamates. One genin is missing, although this is not a surprise. He is notorious for being constantly late, and inconviently lazy. His name is Shikamaru Nara, and he is the genin with the lowest grades in the passing class. He passed the class with the lowest possible passing grade.

Shikamaru had been walking rather slow this morning. He didn't really want to go to the academy today. He had been dreading the entire idea of being assigned into a squad. It was just going to be another boring and awkward situation. He wasn't exactly close to anyone in the academy, other than Choji. He may be friends with Naruto and Kiba, but he still didn't really consider himself close to them. After ten minutes of wandering around near the academy, he decided to finally go inside. When he opened the door, everyone turns to look at him. Iruka shakes his head.

"Shikamaru... you're late... again... Just take a seat, okay?" His tone is somewhat harsh and annoyed. Shikamaru walks to his seat, yawning along the way. He sits down and leans his head on his hand. "Man... this is such a drag." Iruka turns and begins writing on the board. "We have assigned two squads already. Team 8, led by Kurenai Yuhi, and Team 10, lead by Asuma Sarutobi. I will write the members on the board." Iruka writes "Team 8" on the board and the members of the team are Shino Aburame, Choji Achimichi, and Sakura Haruno. "Team 10's" members are Kiba Inuzuka, Naruto Uzumaki, and Ino Yamanaka.

Shikamaru looks around the room. Ino and Sakura both look severly displeased. Shikamaru snickers about they're displeasure. "Okay, Led by Kakashi Hatake, Team 7's members will be..." Iruka writes more on the bored. The first name to be written is Sasuke Uchiha. Shikamaru scoffs at the name. He isn't very fond of Sasuke. The second name to come up is Hinata Hyuga. Shikamaru turns his head to see Hinata with a slightly scared expression. Iruka stops for a moment and then writes the third and final name. Shikamaru Nara.

Shikamaru lets out a deep grunt of annoyance. "Uggghh." After a moment of silence, Shikamaru hears Sasuke scoff. After a few more minutes of Iruka listing off the other team's members, Iruka makes the new teammates sit together for the rest of class. Hinata looks around and sees everyone gathering in groups. Shikamaru is sitting in the top row, alone, and Sasuke is sitting in the bottom row, also alone. Neither seem to want to move. After a moment of twidling her fingers, she decides to go meet Shikamaru. The two of them haven't ever really talked before. She sits down next to him. She blushes and Shikamaru yawns. After a few seconds of silence, Shikamaru turns his head. "So... Hinata, right? I'm Shikamaru..." Hinata smiles a tiny smile and tries to talk back. "H-hello Shikamaru... U-um... N-n-nice to meet you... uh..."

Shikamaru is silent for a moment before turning to Hinata again. "Hinata... Why'd you come to me instead of Sasuke...? All the girls seem wild about him even though he's such a drag..." Hinata looks down for a moment and then speaks. "Um... I-I think he's... kind of scary... I d-don't like him much..." Shikamaru smiles at the words that escape Hinata's mouth. Hinata sees this and feels a little reassured. They sit in silence for a bit and then Iruka notices Shikamaru and Hinata sitting together and looks at Sasuke.

"Sasuke, why arn't you sitting with your new teammates?" Sasuke looks Iruka in the eyes and give him a blank stare. After a moment, he gets up and walks to the others after putting his hands in his pockets. He sits next to Shikamaru. There is about an hour until the class is let out to meet their new sensei's. For this next hour, Sasuke is completely silent. Shikamaru and Hinata exchange small talk here and there, mainly about their fellow classmates. Shikamaru feels strangely comfortable talking to Hinata, and he's not sure why. Hinata also feels this unusual comfortablilty. It was almost soothing.

After a few more minutes of everyone talking to their new found teamates, Iruka gestures everyone to sit down and wait for their new teachers to arrive. As soon as Iruka finishes his sentance, a woman with long black hair and deep red eyes enters the class room. She is very beautiful, and gives off a serious minded aura. She is Kurenai Yuhi. "Aburame, Akimichi, Haruno, you three are with me." The woman quickly turns around and leaves. Sakura gets up. "She didn't even say hello to Iruka-sensei." The three of them follow her out the door. A few minutes later, a man with a beard and a cigarette in his mouth. He seems rather laid back, completely the opposite of the Kurenai. His name is Asuma Sarutobi. Asuma yawns before speaking. "Hmm, Ino, Kiba, Naruto... you're up." The man leans against a wall, waiting for his students to come down. The three of them get up and walk to him. The man smiles and leads them out of the classroom.

Over the next half an hour, different Jonin would enter the classroom, name off three genin, and leave with them. At the end, the only remaining students are Shikamaru, Hinata, and Sasuke. All three are rather agitated. Sasuke is tapping his fingers against the desk, Hinata is holding her head up with both her hands, and Shikamaru is fast asleep. Iruka has already left, leaving the three of them there, alone.

Time slowly passes as the three remaining genin await they're Jonin instructor. Shikamaru raises his head, looks around, and scowls. "What the hell, our new teacher?" Sasuke scowls also. "Can't believe our Jonin is as irresponsible as Shikamaru." Hinata looks over at Sasuke with a then back as Shikamaru. Both look at each other with dirty looks. "Lazy urchin." "Prideful bastard." The air is thick with hostility as the two exchange they insults. Hinata tries to cool things between the boys. "H-hey, we s-shouldn't be fighting already... we just b-became a team..." Shikamaru and Sasuke both look away. Time continues to slowly pass. It has now been an hour since the last group of students had left. Shikamaru gets up and stretches, hinting to the others that they should just leave.

The classroom door opens and a tall, grey haired man wearing a mask covering most of his face enters. He looks at the three of them."Shikamaru Nara, Sasuke Uchiha, and Hinata Hyuga?" All three look at the man with puzzled looks. They stand up. Shikamaru speaks under his breathe. "Only late by an hour, this guys must be a grade A Jonin..." Kakashi looks at Shikamaru, as if he heard what he had said. "My name is Kakashi Hatake. Sorry I was late, a little old lady needed help with her groceries." None of them believe him, they all just look somewhat disappointed. "Well, why don't we get going. We have to start our training immediately." Shikamaru sneers in his mind. "Well, let's get going." Hinata and Sasuke pick up small bags they had with them, and walk down to Kakashi. Shikamaru cracks his back and follows.

Kakashi leads his new genin students to the training field. This field has three logs situated in the ground, standing straight up. Kakashi stands infront of the logs and the three genin sit on top of the logs. "Okay, we should itroduce ourselves first, shall we? I'll go first. My name is Kakashi Hatake, and I'm a Jonin... Your turns..." Shikamaru scowls and thinks to himself. "Well, that was informative." Sasuke introduces himself first. He prattles on about revenge and becoming stronger. Shikamaru yawns as Sasuke is speaking, who shoots him a glare as he yawns. Hinata introdues herself next, barely being able to speak more than a word or two before studdering our of nervousness. Finally, Shikamaru introdues himself. "My name is Shikamaru Nara, and I am a Genin... I don't really care for saying much more than that..." Kakashi looks at the three of them. "Well, you three are odd balls arn't you... Alright... let's get started then."

Kakashi reaches into his pouch and pulls out two bells. The genin watch as he fastens the bells to his pants. "The goals is to get these bells away from me. If you grab a bell, you pass." Hinata looks worried. "Wait, but there's only two bells. What does that mean?" Kakashi looks stern. "Whoever fails to get a bell will have their Genin status revoked and will be sent back to the academy." Hinata looks terrified. Shikamaru looks somewhat worried. Sasuke looks unaffected by Kakashi's words. "You will have till sundown to complete this exercise. Begin..." The genin dash and vanish from sight. All are trying to formulate some plan to aquire a bell. Kakashi pulls out a book and begins to read. All watch as his eyes glide across the pages.

Two hours pass and someone finally makes a move. Sasuke charges out and creates five clones in a attempt to fool his sensei. As Sasuke gets nearer, he jumps and tries to kick Kakashi in the head, who reaches up, without removing his eyes from his book, and grabs Sasuke by the ankle. Sasuke is thrown and catches himself in the air. He dashes forword and tries to sweep Kakashi's legs, only to miss as Kakashi jumps. Sasuke continues his assault on Kakashi for a few minutes. Shikamaru watches intently and thinks deeply. "If I plan on gettingone of those bells, I'm going to have to be tricky. This guy may seem aloof and idiotic, but I can tell he's strong, much stronger than the three of us combined. I may have to take advantage of Sasuke and Hinata to proceed. Although, I'd rather not use Hinata like that. Alright, I know what to do."

Shikamaru charges out and gets about ten feet from the fight. He watches as Sasuke keeps attacking Kakashi, failing to land even a single good hit. Shikamaru raises his hands. "Let's see if I can do this right. Shadow Possession Justu!" Shikamaru's shadow begins to twist and wind, as if he could control it. It moes outward toward the two of them, slowly at first but then rockets toward Kakashi. Kakashi sees this and dashes backwards, with Sasuke still on his heels. Kakashi is now closer to the logs. Shikamaru runs ouer and climbs a log. Kakashi keeps an eye on him as he does so. "Alright, let's try this again! Shadow Possession Jutsu!" The shadows of the three logs combine and create a larger shadow, this one splits in two and creates a circle around Sasuke and Kakashi with a diameter of about twenty feet. This ring effectively creates a arena that Kakashi cannot escape with out contacting ashadow. Kakashi notices this and stops reading. Sasuke has momentarily backed off.

"Well, smart Shikamaru. This gives Sasuke a decent advantage over me." Shikamaru smirks and gets in a relaxed position to conserve energy. "I'm only doing this so Sasuke will let me have that other bell." Sasuke sneers but looks cooperitive. Hinata, who is hiding in a tree, looks very worried. "I d-don't wanna be left behind..." Hinata runs out and joins the fray after Shikamaru lets her enter the ring. Shikamaru smirks. "Alright, Hinata... You get him from behind, Sasuke, you continue what your doing. Just remember, one of those bells are mine."

Kakashi looks at Shikamaru and thinks. "Well, for being a fresh genin, his isn'tcompletely uncapable as a leader." As Kakashi is thinking, Sasuke lands a hit on him. He hits him in the shin, unbalancing him. Hinata dashes from behind and tries to jab him in the back. As this happens, a poof of smoke blinds everyone. When it clears, Kakashi is gone. All three are on alert, scanning everywhere for Kakashi. After a few seconds, a hand bursts out from underneath Hinata and another under Sasuke. Both are pulled under ground and buried up to their neck. Shikamaru barely has time to react before he is slammed to the ground and also burried. The three are all next to each other. Kakashii appears in frontof them. He is smiling widely.

"Haha, well, you three did much better than expected. Didn't expect you to have any form of teamwork. That wasn't bad if you all weren't out for just yourselves. It's almost lunch time. I'll be back in ten minutes..." Kakashi disappears and the three of them are left hungry and burried. Shikamaru, somehow, falls asleep. Hinata begins to panic as time passes. Sasuke is stern and almost emotionless. Kakashi returns an hour later. "What are you guys still doing burried?" Shikamaru is awake. "You left us all burried, how the hell are we supposed to get out?" Kakashi laughs nervously. "Sorry about that... hehe."

Kakashi pulls them out. "Well... I guess after reviewing the way you three worked together, you pass..." The three genin are in disbelief. Shikamaur catches on quickly. "So that was a teamwork exercise. We weren't actually ment to get the bells..." Kakashi smirks. "Correct, although you three will need quite a bit of practice to hone your teamwork... But yes, you all pass." The genin all smile and cheer. Hinata is bright red with excitement. "Alright, why don'tyou three eat lunch and head home. Tomorrow we will begin our first mission as team 7."

_**End Of Chapter One! **_

_**I hope you enjoyed the changes. I am sorry I took so long to update. I don't have a computer at the moment, so I will notbe ableto update regularly. I am very sorry. But please, tell me how you guys feel about this story.**_


	2. Chapter Two: Tazuna The Bridge Builder!

Four weeks have passed since Team 7 had completed their training and became an official ninja cell. They have completed many D rank missions ranging from cleaning up trash from a river to caring for pets of nobles. It is Tuesday and Team 7 had just finished tracking down and capturing a runaway cat. The team reported to the Hokage to turn in the mission and return the cat to it's owner. Hinata is holding the cat, petting it. Shikamaru is walking with his hands behind his head. His hands and forearms are covered in scratches and band-aids. Sasuke has his usual, calm and collected, and Kakashi is..., well, his usual self. They enter the Hokage's audience chamber where Iruka is seated beside the Hokage himself. There is also a plump, gaudily dressed woman is also present. She is the client and owner of the cat. As the Team enters the chamber, the cat, named "Toro", sees it's master and attempts to escape Hinata's grip, unsuccessfully. Shikamaru stands next to Hinata and watches the cat.

"Look at how he's acting, he must really think his owner is a drag, huh?" Hinata looks over at Shikamaru. "It can't be that bad, um, right?" Since Hinata has been assigned to Team 7, and began talking to Shikamaru, she has had less issues with speaking than she normally does. At least when conversing with Shikamaru. The woman sees the cat and rushes over and grabs the cat from Hinata and proceeds to hug and squeeze it against her face. "Oh, my precious Toro!" Shikamaru watches and speaks under his breath. "Maybe he was better of in the forest." The woman thanks the three genin and their Jonin instructor and then rushes out the door after paying the mission fee to Iruka.

Iruka spilts up the ryo bills and begins to speak. "Excellent work you guys. The client paid a total sum of 25,000 ryo, so that means each genin will receive 2,000 ryo and the Jonin will receive 5,000 ryo. (If you're wondering, 100 ryo translates to about one american dollar.) At this rate, you guys will run out of D rank missions." There is a moment of silence before Kakashi speaks. "Then why don't we try a C rank mission." Iruka and The Hokage look at Kakashi. "Are you sure about that Kakashi...?" Asks the Hokage. "Positive. It'd be more dangerous and more work, but I think these guys would really benefit from it." Shikamaru, at hearing the words "more work", sighs and grunts deeply. Hinata, at hearing the word "dangerous", turns pale. Sasuke is still cool and collected. Kakashi notices the reactions of his team. "Oh don't be like that, it would only be dealing with some bandits or robbers at most. I'm more than confident in you three."

The Hokage sits quietly in deliberation. Studying the three genin closely. After about a minute of silence, the Hokage smiles. "Alright, Team 7 will receive it's first C rank mission. We already have one I think you three will be perfect for. You will be protecting the master bridge builder, Tazuna, who is the client of this mission. He is requesting we escort him to the land of waves." Shikamaru looks around. "So... where's the client?" Just as the Hokage is about to speak, a man with a pointed hat, a grey beard, and glasses enters the chamber. He has a bottle of sake in his hand. "There is your client." The Hokage points. Tazuna looks at the three genin and Kakashi. "Wait, these snot nosed brats will be the ones I'm trusting my life with? Perfect. We have the kid with the stupid pointed pony tail, a girl who looks like she can barely even protect herself, and this one." Tazuna looks at Sasuke. Hinata looks sad and Shikamaru scowls at Tazuna. "At least he looks like he has at least a bit of skill."

Tazuna takes a swig from his bottle and looks at The Hokage. "I'm a master carpenter and you assign me these wet-behind-the-ears kids to protect me?" Kakashi interrupts. "You paid for a C rank mission, so you will receive C rank ninja, which are skilled Genin and their Jonin leader. If you wanted better protection, you should have payed for a B or A mission." Tazuna looks at Kakashi and scowls. The Hokage looks at Team 7. "Alright. You will all have two hours to gather and prepare in anyway you deem necessary. You are dismissed." Everyone disperses. Tazuna and Kakashi leave together. Sasuke leaves on his own and so does Shikamaru. Hinata is left alone, worried and scared. "W-w-what should I bring...?" She panics for a moment and runs out the door.

Shikamaru returns to his house and gathers some various ninja tools and items. His father, Shikaku, asks him what's happening. "Shikamaru, what are you doing?" "I'm getting ready for a mission. Kakashi decided to get us a C rank mission rather than another D rank one." Shikaku thinks to himself for a moment and then speaks. "A C rank already? Hmmm..." After another moment of silence, Shikaku looks Shikamaru in the eyes. "This will be your first assignment away from the village. It will also be your first assignment where your life may be at risk. You must take your time and be careful son. Work with your team, and make sure you follow Kakashi's orders." Shikamaru crosses his arms. "I understand fully. I plan on returning to the village after this mission, and I don't plan on losing to some pathetic bandits or robbers." Shikaku's expression becomes stern. "You must plan for anything. Anything can happen. You never know what you might encounter as a ninja."

Shikamaru turns around, putting his back to his father. "I know... I'll be careful..." Shikamaru turns his head to his father. "Thanks dad... I'll return safe and sound..." Shikaku smirks. "You'd better... your mother would kill me if you were injured out on a mission..." Shikaku pats Shikamaru on the back as he exits the Nara household.

Just outside Shikamaru's house, Hinata is in wait. Shikamaru walks up to her. "Hinata... what are you doing here?" Hinata looks somewhat flustered. "I-I didn't know w-what I should bring, I was h-hoping you could help me... I... I'm really nervous about our mission..." "Hinata... just relax... Just get medicine... A blanket... stuff like that... the Land of Waves is a week long journey away... I brought some ninja tools, a blanket, some instant and canned food. Just stuff like that..." Hinata looks down. "I'm j-just... kinda scared..." "Stop worrying so much. Everything will be fine. We're ninja remember...? Act like one... No matter how much of a drag things are..." Hinata turns very red. "I-I'm sorry for bothering you Shikamaru... you're right..." Shikamaru yawns and stretches. "Whatever. I'll see you at the Branch gate with Kakashi and Tazuna..."

Shikamaru leaves and heads for the Branch gate. (There are three main gates to Konoha. The Branch Gate, The Leaf Gate, and The Stem Gate.) Shikamaru sits on a bench and falls asleep, waiting for his team. About an hour later, he is rudely awoken by Sasuke. "Hey loser... get up... it's time to move." Shikamari opens his eyes. The entire group has assembled. Shikamaru yawns and stretches while getting up. He slings his backpack over his shoulder. Tazuna looks at Shiakamru. "That kid is useless... sleeping when we could have already left. This kid is a joke as a ninja..." Shikamaru scowls. "Whatever, old man..." The team begins their journey. Everything is quite and uneventful... at first...

Hours into their journey, Hinata is worried about being attacked by other ninja from other nations. Kakashi reassures that is is very unlikely that that will happen and begins schooling his students about the Five Great Nations that house the Five Hidden Villages. They cross multiple small bridges and clearings. The entire time, Hinata feels uneasy. At one point, everything is perfectly quite other than the sounds of birds chirping. The team walks down a deserted country road with nothing at all other than a puddle that Shikamaru notices and thinks is rather strange. He brings it up to Kakashi, who gies Shikamaru a surprised look.

"Kakashi-sensei... why is there a puddle back there...?" Kakashi looks at Shikamaru with his foretold expression. "Shikamaru... I didn't...-" Kakashi is interrupted by the sounds of chains rattling and chiming. The chains wrap around Kakashi, binding him in place. At the end of the chains are to men in cloaks with strange headbands. They are Hidden Mist shinobi. Shikamaru sees the scratch through the symbol. "Kakashi! No! What are rouge ninja attacking us for!?" Shikamaru screams. Hinata lets out a shriek as Kakashi is bound. Seconds later, the two ninja pull at the chains that were wrapped around Kakashi's entire body, tearing him to ribbons. Everyone is standing in awe. "Kakashi sensei!" Shikamaru screams at Hinata lets out a shriek of pure terror. The two ninja appear behind Sasuke, their bloody chains rattling These men are equiped with claws that the chains are attached to, binding their movements together.. "Now it's your turn!" Screams the man with the two horned headband. Shikamaru turns and makes a hand sign. His shadow rockets at the men, binding the one horned man in place before he can wrap the chains around Sasuke. "Shadow Possession Jutsu!"Sasuke jumps up and throws multiple shuriken at the other man, who dodges but is yanked and almost loses his balance. "Brother! I can't move!" Shouts the bound man. Sasuke kicks the dodging man in the chest, sending him away from his brother and severing the chain.

The unbound brother recovers and charges toward Tazuna, Hinata sees this and steps in front of Tazuna, assuming her Gentle Fist stance. Hinata is as pale as snow. The man gets ever close, his claws about to pierce Hinata's face. Suddenly, the man is stopped and a sound of gasping and grunting is heard. Kakashi clothes lined the man and holds him in place. The brother bound by Shikamaru shouts. "Brother!" Kakashi looks at his students and says nothing more than "Hi". The entire group is filled to the brim with relief. Shikamaru turns to "Kakashi's" corpse. A pile of small logs is all that is seen. Shikamaru smiles largely. "Substitution, huh?" Hinata nearly passes out with the sight of her sensei. Kakashi looks at everyone. "Good job Shikamaru, quick thinking at it's best. You too Sasuke, smooth finish. Hinata is pale once again, this time she looks somewhat sickly. Kakshi notices this. "Hinata... these ninja have poison in their claws. You have a small cut on your face..." Shikamaru looks over in a panic. "Hinata!"

Hinata looks around, back and forth, terrified. Kakashi looks over at Tazuna. "By the way Mr. Tazuna... we need to talk." Kakashi ties up the brothers after knocking the bound one unconscious. Kakashi examines Hinata's wound. It isn't deep, the claw barely pierced the skin. Not enough poison is in Hinata's system to cause any real side effects other than making her feel sick. Kakashi explains that the ninja that attacked them are rouge chunin rank ninja. They ask how Shikamaru and Kakashi seemed to know they were going to attack. Shikamaru smirks and explains that is was very obvious due to the fact that it hadn't rained in weeks, so a puddle was very out of place. Tazuna speaks. "If you knew about this Kakashi, why did you risk your genin's lives?" Kakashi looks at Tazuna. "I had to see what or who their target was... Weather it was us... ninja fighting ninja, or if they were after you... the master bridge builder... Had we known you were wanted by other ninja... this mission would have been more expensive and a B or higher rank... We would have assigned higher rank ninja... We are now beyond the scope of our mission."

Sasuke looks at Tazuna. "Kakashi... we're already out here... we might as well continue the mission." After the team talks it over, and Tazuna pleads with the team and explains how important the bridge is, they decide to finish the mission. The group travels down the road, Shikamaru shows concern for Hinata and talks to her. After the conversation, Hinata returns a soft smile at Shikamaru.

_**End Of Chapter Two!**_

_**I really hope you guys like how this is going. Please share your comment and tell me if you want more. The more you speak, the more I'll write! Thank you so very much for reading! Thanks for being a fan of my work! You have no idea how much I appreciate it!**_


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